Recessed light socket and lens therefor



Nov. 24, 1970 J. v. FISHER RECESSED LIGHT SOCKET AND LENS THEREFOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 3, 1968 P F I V n m U J '1 I I: in

Fig: 5

NOV. 24 1970 v FlsHER I 3 543,224

REGESSED LIGHT SOCKET AND LENS THEREFOR Filed June :3, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet? INVENI'OR. Ju/mn 1 F [sher His Afl"ys United States Patent 01 ifice ware Filed June 3, 1968, Ser. No. 733,841 Int. Cl. H01r 13/48, 13/60 US. Cl. 339-125 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Molded thermoplastic recessed light socket assembly for clothes dryer interior has integral support and integral resilient fastening members for permitting the socket to be recessed in an aperture in an interior wall of the dryer from the interior of the dryers drum and securely fastened to the interior wall by pressing the resilient fastening members into holes adjacent the aperture. Locking means formed on the integral support members and on a portion of the rear surface of a cooperating cover or lens member permit the lens member to be readily attached to and removed from locking engagement with the support for servicing a light bulb under the lens from the interior of the drum.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention removed from a cooperating position with the socket and panel from the said one side of the panel.

Description of the prior art The mounting of a light in an interior panel of a drum type clothes dryer presents many problems not present in other types of devices utilizing recessed panel lights. One problem is that the lens covering the bulb must be very smooth and positioned close to the panel of the drying compartment in order to avoid interfering with or snaging delicate articles being tumbled. Since the use of metal fasteners such as slotted screws in the drum would present a possibility of snagging the clothes and would not electrically insulate a metal light socket bracket from the panel, one prior art dryer has had a lens and socket support bracket mounted on its rear interior wall from the rear of the dryer using screws which engage smooth sufaced, imperforate nut members made of dielectric material such as those shown in US. Pat. 3,352,195. Although such a mounting is quite safe for the clothes since only the rounded plastic heads of the nuts extend into the interior area of the drum, it requires the use of many parts as well as access to both sides of the interior panel during initial assembly. Furthermore, such a design makes it necessary, when replacing a burned out bulb, to pull the dryer out from the wall and remove its exterior rear panel in order to change the bulb. This latter operation can be very involved if the dryer has a vent pipe which is not flexible or if the dryer is gas operated and the gas supply pipe is not flexible.

SUMMARY It is an object of this invention to provide a lamp socket and lens assembly which can be easily and economically manufactured.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a recessed lamp socket assembly which can be completely assembled to an aperture from one side of a panel in 3,543,224 Patented Nov. 24, 1970 a few seconds and have a lens member locked to it Or released from it, from the same side of the panel in even less time and without tools.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a thermoplastic lamp socket having integral support members for spacing the socket from a panel and integral fasteners for holding the support members to the panel.

It is another object of this invention to provide a smooth surfaced lens member for covering a light socket support assembly mounted in a panel opening wherein the lens cooperates with the support assembly and panel for releasably retaining the lens member relative thereto.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a light socket assembly which includes integral resilient members for ejecting a cooperating lens member as it is unlocked from engagement with the socket assembly.

These objects are obtained by the present invention which ha a pair of molded thermoplastic (such as ny on) body members incorporating metal contact elements in an integral lamp socket. The body members also include integral resilient fastener means for permitting the body members to be snapped into and retained by holes in a panel member against removal therefrom. Preferably, a molded thermoplastic lens member having a generally smooth outer surface is releasably held against the panel by a plurality of retaining arm portions formed on the underside thereof which cooperate with portions of the panel and body member. The body member has a plurality of legs extending in skirt-like fashion from its socket end. These legs space the socket from the panel and are of a dimension less than that of an aperture in one side of a panel so as to be recessable therein. A plurality of flat radially extending flange portions on the ends of the legs spaced from the socket overlie the panel adjacent the aperture and restrict the inward movement of the body member into the aperture.- Integral fastener portions are formed on each of the flange portions. These fasteners project toward the socket end of the body member and have shank portions which are axially relieved immediately adjacent the flanges a distance generally equal to the thickness of the panel. The integral fastener portions have enlarged tapered head portions adjacent the relieved shank portions which are partially relieved by slots to render them resilient and permit their exterior dimensions adjacent the relieved shank portion to be reduced as their tapered forward ends are pressed into openings in the panel adjacent the aperture which are smaller than the maximum exterior dimension of the head portion. As the fastener portions are pressed completely into the small panel openings, their enlarged heads snap over the edges of the holes and prevent the body member from being withdrawn from the holes.

Once assembled to the panel in the manner just noted, the legs of the body member will maintain the lamp socket centered and in a predetermined recessed spacing relative to the aperture in the panel so as to facilitate the insertion or removal of a lamp from the socket. Although in some instances it might be desirable to mount the light socket assembly to a panel in the manner just described and to use it in that fashion, it is generally more desirable to cover the lamp and the exposed portions of the body member and panel aperture with a lens or other type of cover.

The lens member of the invention is also preferably molded of thermoplastic material and formed with integral portions which cooperate with the panel and light socket assembly in various ways. Some of these portions retain the lens relative to the panel while others limit the rotation movement of the lens. Still others facilitate the manual rotation of the lens to fasten it to or unfasten it from the panel. The lens member may also have nozzle openings formed therein through which, in the case of a clothes dryer, chemicals, such as air freshening agents, may be injected into the tumbling drum area from a remote dispenser.

. Since both the body member and the lens may be molded of thermoplastic material such as nylon, and assembled to a panel without the use of additional fastening members, they can be manufactured quite economically. Furthermore, very little labor time is required for initial assembly of the socket to a panel since the body member which includes the socket is merely pressed into holes in the panel. Additionally, the lens can be readily removed and a lamp changed in a few seconds by a housewife without the use of tools. Since the body member is plastic, and thus an insulator, there is no chance for an electrical short circuit to develop between the socket and the panel. Finally, the :body member is formed so as to make the exposed socket terminals quite inaccesisble from inside the dryer drum while changing a bulb while permitting air to freely circulate around the bulb to keep it from overheating the thermoplastic socket support material.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages will be readily apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a lamp socket assembly and lens cover member therefor showing the socket assembly mounted in an aperture in a panel member.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the lens cover member of FIG. 1 showing the lens in a position rotated about the vertical axis of the lens in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the rear surface of the lens member shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional side view of the lens member taken along lines 44 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of either the right or left hand side of the lens shown in F163.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a portion of the lens crosssection taken on lines 66 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the light socket member shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a left side view of the light socket member shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a rear elevational view of the light socket shown in FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. 1, the light socket assembly of the invention can be seen in its operational environment with its lens or cover removed. The improved light socket assembly and the electrical terminal elements operatively associated with it, are indicated generally at 10. The light socket assembly 10 is formed of first and second body half members 12 and 14 respectively which are fastened together in mating relationship. The light socket assembly 10 is adapted to be non-removably inserted into an aperture 16 in a panel member 18 from the front surface thereof. After a light bulb (not shown) is screwed into the socket assembly, a lens or cover member 22 may be removably locked to the panel and socket assembly. The locking of the lens 22 is accomplished by meansv of retaining arms 24 (FIG. 2) positioned on the back surface of the lens. These retaining arms 24 are adapted to be moved axially through the panel in the recessed areas 26 which are adjacent the panel aperture 16. Counterclockwise movement of the lens as shown by the arrows will cause the arms 24 to be moved into locking contact with the rear surface 28 of the panel 18.

The left end of the socket assembly 10 in FIG. 1 is conveniently termed the socket end since it includes molded internal threads 34 into which a light bulb (not shown) may be screwed. Electric current is carried to the light bulb by means of positive and neutral metal terminal strips 36, 38 respectively. The terminal strips, which are shown more clearly in FIGS. 7 and 8, are anchored in molded pockets in the socket assembly 10 prior to fastening the body half members 12 and 14 together. The right end of the socket assembly 10 may be referred to as the skirt end 40 since it flairs outwardly in a skirt-like fashion. At the skirt end 40, each of the body half mem bers 12 and 14 terminates in a plurality of leg portions 42 which have foot-like flange portions 44 extending radially outwardly therefrom. The flange portions 44 are preferably thin in order to achieve a minimum extension of the socket assembly in front of a panel to which it is mounted. To maximize the strength of the skirt end 40 and still permit air to freely circulate around a lamp in the socket 34, the legs 42 are attached to a plurality of longitudinal and transverse ribs 45. Formed integrally with the flange portions 44 and extending axially toward the socket end 32 are resilient fastener members 46. These fasteners are adapted to be resiliently compressed and snapped through correspondingly positioned holes (not shown) in the panel 18 to retain the socket assembly in the panel and prevent it from rotating relative to the panel or being removed axially from the front of the panel. Positioned at the skirt end of each of the body half members 12, 14 are a plurality of integral spring finger members 48. The spring fingers 48 serve the principal function of ejecting the cover member from the panel once it has been rotated from its locked to its unlocked position and eliminate any need to pry the lens ofi. Resiliency of the spring fingers 48 is retained by normally maintaining them in the uncompressed position shown in FIG. 1. The spring fingers 48 are compressed by retaining arms 24 when the lens 22 is pressed into the recesses 26. However, in the course of rotating lens 22 in a counterclockwise direction for locking, the cam surfaces 52 on the arms 24 are forced over the edges of the recesses 26 and rotated out of compressive engagement with the finger members 48. To retain the lens 22 in the locking position to which it is rotated, a detent means comprising a boss portion 54 on the rear surface of the lens and a dimpled portion 56 on the panel is provided. To permit the boss portion 54 and dimpled portion 56 to perform a significant holding function, the retaining arms 24 are formed so as to press tightly against the rear surface 28 of the panel 18. In order to permit such firm contact of arms 24 with the panel 18 and still allow the lens member to be held spaced from the panel 18 by the projection of the boss 54 while being rotated into locking position, the retaining arms 24 are formed so as to be slightly resilient relative to the annular flange 57 from which they extend. This resiliency is obtained by reducing the thickness of the annular flange 57 in the region 58 adjacent the arms 24. To accurately align the arms 24 of the lens with the recesses 26 during rotational movement in an unlocking direction, the body members 12, 14 have stops 60 formed thereon which block the movement of arms 24.

Where it is desired to permit substances to be transmitted from the rear of the panel 18 to the front of the panel, an opening 62 (FIG. 1) may be provided in the panel 18 which is aligned with a hole 64 on the lens member 22 when the lens is in its locked position. In a clothes dryer, such holes are useful for transmitting an air freshener chemical from the rear of the panel 18 into the clothes drying chamber.

To facilitate locking and unlocking of the lens or cover member 22, a plurality of finger gripping portions are provided. The finger gripping portions are defined by the depressed area 66 and the raised or ribbed areas 68. It is important that these areas be blended smoothly into th remainder of the outer surface on the lens to avoid damage to the clothes. Although only two retaining arms 24 are shown in the drawings, it is contemplated that three, four or more such members might be utilized in order to maintain intimate contact between the inner rim surface 70 of lens 22 and the panel 18 around the entire circumference of the lens 22. The use of such additional retaining arms would overcome any tendency of the lens member to warp after molding or extended use. Although, as previously noted, the detent portions 54, 56 retain the lens in its locked position, the device has two other ways which assure it will remain locked. One additional lock is a result of the fact that during locking, the retaining arms 24 press in on spring fingers 48 and then move under the panel in a counterclockwise direction, such that the spring fingers return to the position shown in FIG. 1. Since the arms 24 have to again compress the springs 48 during an unlocking operation, it is obvious that the springs 48 will help retain the lens member in its locked position. The other means by which locking is insured is the forming and mounting of the device so that the tumbling movement of the clothes in the dryer drum will tend to move the clothes over the lens 22 in the direction of locking.

FIGS. 7-9 show certain details of the construction of the light socket assembly 10 which are not visible in FIG. 1. One such detail comprises the means by which the first and second body half members 12 and 14 are held together. This means comprises four integral pins 74 which project from body member 12 and pass through corresponding holes in body member 14. The ends of the pins 74 extend beyond the holes and are deformed by heat and/ or pressure to rivet the two body members together. These figures also show the resilient fastener members 46 in more detail. The fastener elements 46 include a reduced area shank portion 78 which is slightly smaller than the opening in the panel 18 through which they must pass. The fastener members 46 also have an enlarged head portion 80 of a diameter greater than the diameter of the hole through which they must pass so as to permit them to retain the socket assembly against removal from the panel. During insertion of the fastener members 46 into a panel, the tapered forward portions 82 of the fasteners enter the holes in the panel and are progressively compressed in the region of the thin center and edge resilient portions 84, 85 respectively until the head portion 80 has snapped over the panel. In FIGS. 7 and 8 the terminal portions 36 and 38 can also be seen. Neutral terminal element 38 is a metal member with a right angled bend which is mounted in a groove in a portion 88 which projects from the socket end 32. Terminal 38 includes a wavy portion 90 which corresponds to the internal threads 34 in the socket end and to the threads of a light bulb. Terminal 36 is mounted so its inner end can be compressed by the bulb.

FIGS. 3-6 show details of the lens structure 22 including the domed area 92 which permits the light from a bulb in the socket to provide better illumination of the dryer drum than would be possible with a flat lens. FIG. 5 shows the detail of the finger gripping areas 66, 68 by which a user pushes against the lens while turning it. The springs 48 then eject it when it is released.

While the invention has particularly been shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A light socket assembly adapted to be insertable through an aperture in a panel from the front of the panel, said assembly comprising axially extending integral molded plastic body portions including first and second matching body half members adapted to be inserted through said aperture, integral body half retaining means formed on each of said body halves and cooperating with each other to lock the body halves together, and electrical contact means held by said body portions and positioned to permit electrical current to be passed through a lamp placed in said socket assembly, integral flange portions projecting radially outwardly from said body portions and adapted to engage the front of said panel adjacent said aperture for limiting the movement of said body portions into said aperture, and integral retaining means adapted to engage the panel on its rear side to retain the assembly in a predetermined fashion relative to the panel whereby to prevent it from being withdrawn from the aperture or rotated relative to the panel, said integral retaining means including a plurality of resilient members extending rearwardly from said flange portions, said resilient members being adapted to be inserted from the front of said panel through openings therein having a predetermined size, said resilient members having first portions along their length and immediately adjacent to the flange portions which are of a size which is no greater than that of said openings, said resilient members having entering end portions which are smaller than said openings at their tips and increase in size rearwardly along their length to a point adjacent said first portions, said resilient members being adapted to be resiliently compressed as said resilient members are pressed into said openings, said compressed portions being adapted to snap over the rear surface of the said panel adjacent said openings to prevent withdrawal of said resilient members.

2. The light socket assembly of claim 1 wherein said body flange portions comprise a plurality of thin flat members projecting radially outwardly from said body portions.

3. A light socket assembly adapted to be insertable through an aperture in a panel from the front of the panel, said assembly comprising axially extending integral body portions adapted to be inserted through said aperture, integral flange portions projecting radially outwardly from said body portions and adapted to engage the front of said panel adjacent said aperture for limiting the movement of said body portions into said aperture, integral retaining means adapted to engage the panel on its rear side to retain the assembly in a predetermined fashion relative to the panel whereby to prevent it from being withdrawn from the aperture or rotated relative to the panel, and a cover member shaped to cover said assembly when installed in a panel aperture, said cover memher having integral portions engaging the front of said panel and integral finger elements adapted to be passed through opening means between said retaining means in said panel from the front side thereof and cooperate with the underside of said panel to removably hold said cover in a predetermined position relative to said panel and light socket assembly whereby said light assembly and said cover can be completely installed from the front side of said panel and said cover can be removed from said front side of said panel.

4. The light socket device of claim 3 wherein said cover member is molded of resilient plastic and includes flat rim portions for engaging the panel around said aperture, a plurality of retaining arms integrally formed on said cover member, said retaining arms being adapted to be inserted through recessed areas in said panel adjoining said aperture and extending radially outwardly therefrom, said cover member being selectively locked in position relative to said panel by rotating said cover and causing said retaining arms to move from said recessed areas onto the portions of the rear surface of said panel adjacent said recessed areas.

5. The light socket device of claim 4 wherein cooperating detent means are provided on said cover and panel for releasably locking said cover'to said panel at a predetermined position of rotation of said cover and arms relative to said panel.

6. The light socket device of claim 5 wherein said cover member includes circumferentially extending flange portions projecting axially at generally right angles to said flat rim portions, said flange portions being adapted to be received within said aperture, said retaining arms being integral with circumferentially spaced portions of said flange portions and spaced from a plane containing the flat rim portions, the cross-section of said flange being reduced in the vicinity of said retaining arms between said retaining arms and the plane of said flat rim portion whereby to permit the free ends of said retaining arms to be flexed away from said plane without causing any significant movement of the flange portions which are connected to the ends of the portions having a reduced cross section, said flexing movement permitting the cover to be rotated While slightly spaced from said panel by a portion of said detent means prior to the detent means on said cover and panel being moved into aligned cooperating relationship.

7. The light socket device of claim 4 wherein at least one of said body halves includes an integral resilient member which is adapted to be compressed relative to said one body half when said resilient arms on said cover are inserted in said recessed areas, said resilient member serving to eject said cover member from said body portions when said resilient arms are aligned with said recessed areas.

8. The light socket device of claim 7 wherein said resilient member comprises a spring finger having a tip portion aligned with one of said recessed areas and extending transversely thereof and a base portion located in the direction in which the cover is rotated during a locking operation, the rotation of said cover in said locking direction serving to progressively release the pressure of one of said arms on said spring finger.

9. The light socket device of claim 3 wherein said retaining arms are resilient and include a cam surface for permitting them to be moved over one side edge of each of said recessed areas when the cover is rotated in its locking direction, a raised detent portion on one of said cover and panel members serving to hold said cover away from said panel until said raised detent portion is moved into aligned cooperating relationship with a depressed detent portion on the other of said cover and panel members at a predetermined locking position of rotation, and cooperating integral stop means formed on said cover member and body member for preventing movement of said arms past their position of alignment with said recessed areas when said cover is rotated in an unlocking direction.

10. The light socket device of claim 4 wherein said cover has a smooth exterior surface and a plurality of rotation inducing means formed therein for facilitating rotation of said cover into and out of locking engagement with said panel.

11. The light socket assembly of claim 1 wherein said body members are molded of a thermoplastic material.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,238,728 4/1941 Hadley et al 339-128 X 3,114,508 12/1963 Trautner et al. 33961 X 3,115,308 12/1963 Stark 339-126 X 3,354,454 11/1967 Rueger 33961 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,448,180 6/1966 France.

RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 33959, 208 

